Leukaemia drug to cost millions

By PAULA OLIVER

Leukaemia drug Glivec will be free for 120 patients from next month, says the Government drug-funding agency Pharmac.

The drug, which has been hailed as a wonder treatment for sufferers of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), targets cancer cells while leaving normal ones alone.

Clinical trials have shown Glivec to be three times more effective than the standard CML treatment of Interferon and chemotherapy - but it had been out of the reach of many sufferers because of its expense.

The drug can cost up to $100,000 a year.

Funding of Glivec capsules was the focus of a high-profile "Save the 90" campaign this year after Pharmac said the drug was too expensive for its budget.

Sufferers of CML appeared in newspaper advertisements and on billboards at election time urging people to vote for their lives.

Yesterday's deal, announced in Wellington, comes after months of intense negotiation between Pharmac and drug company Novartis.

From December 1, Glivec will be fully subsidised for people who suffer a particular cancer of the stomach and intestines, if it is inoperable and spreading.

Up to 120 CML patients will qualify.

Should the Ministry of Health's drug assessment agency Medsafe give the go-ahead, the drug will be funded as a first-line therapy - making New Zealand one of the first countries to adopt it in this way.

A further 90 patients could then also receive Glivec for free.

Asked if public pressure had played a part in the decision to fund the drug, Pharmac chief executive Wayne McNee said the concerns of patients were heard when they indicated that all CML sufferers should gain access to Glivec.

Pharmac had initially proposed financing the drug only for patients with advanced CML, and under strict criteria.

"We got a very strong response to that, saying they believed the benefit should be wider," said Mr McNee.

"We heard the concerns of patients, we went back to Novartis, and together we have been able to reach an agreement."

The negotiations had provided a number of challenges, but the deal had been worth the wait, he said.

Leukaemia and Blood Foundation spokesman Jim Hamilton said the right decision had been made.

"It is a sensible decision for Pharmac to fund Glivec. It will save lives and save taxpayers' money."

CML sufferer Dorothy Facoory, who appeared in the newspaper advertisements, said she was relieved by the deal.

"This is great news. The drug has given me complete normality in life, with no side-effects.

"I've got more energy and I feel normal."

The 66-year-old resident of St Johns in Auckland was diagnosed with CML 10 years ago after having a routine blood test.

She has travelled overseas for treatment several times in the past 10 years.

The drugs she was initially prescribed gave her side-effects, including an aching body and ulcers.

But she felt an immediate improvement when she was given Glivec as part of trial in October last year.

At the Pharmac announcement yesterday, other sufferers described the deal as an answer to their prayers.

"It had been a case of counting my pennies every day to see how much longer I could afford to live," said one man.

Pharmac has agreed to list Glivec on the pharmaceutical schedule at a price of $4800 a pack, which is a month's supply.

The price negotiated for the drug is $58,000 to $88,000 a year for each patient, but Novartis has agreed to a confidential "risk-sharing" arrangement with Pharmac, and to price cuts of up to 60 per cent on other drugs.

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